THE  LIBRARY  OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF 

NORTH  CAROLINA 


THE  COLLECTION  OF 
NORTH  CAROLINIANA 


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UNIVERSITY  OF  N.C.  AT  CHAPEL  HILL 


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LIFE  AND  CHARACTER 


OF 


11^ 


LATE  PEESIMNT  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


BY 

GOV.  ZEBULON  B.  VANCE, 

DELIVERED  IN  GERARD  HALL, 

ON 
COMMENCEMENT  DAY,  JUNE  7,  1877, 

AT  THE  REQUEST  OF 

THE  TKUSTEES  AND  FACULTY  OF  THE  UNIVEESITY. 


DURHAM,  N.  C: 

W.  T.  BLACKWELL  &  CO.'S  STEAM  PRESSES, 

1878. 


MEMORIAL  ORATION, 

PUBLISHED  IX  COMPLIANCE  WITH  THE  FOLLOWING  LETTER: 

Ealeigh,  N.  C,  January  20t]i,  1878. 

Sir: — At  the  lastregtilar  meetiug  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  the 
University  of  North  Carolina,  held  in  this  city  on  the  16th  of  the 
month,  it  was  unanimousl}' 

"Bewlved,  That  the  thaiiks  of  this  Board  are  hereby  tendered  to 
His  Excellency  Governor  Vance,  for  his  able,  eloquent  and  instruc- 
tive oration  oil  the  life  and  character  of  the  late  Hon.  David  L. 
Swain,  delivered  at  the  last  annual  commencement;  that  the 
Excellency  the  Governor  be  requested  to  furnish  a  copy  of  the 
oration  for  publication,  and  that  the  Secretary  of  the  Board  be 
instructed  to  notify  him  of  the  adoption  of  this  resolution." 

In  accordance  with  the  instructions  of  the  Board  I  have  the 
honor  herewith  to  notify  your  Excellency  of  the  unanimous  adop- 
tion of  the  foregoing  resolution.     Very  respectfully, 

W.  L.  Saundees,  Sec'y  Board  Trustees. 
To  the  Excellencij  Qovernor  Z.  B.  Vance,  Baleigh,  N.  G. 


THE    OEATION. 

That  great  range  of  mountains,  extending  fi-om  the  St.  Law- 
rence to  the  plauis  of  Alabama,  called  by  De  Soto  Apalachian,  and 
by  the  Indian  tribes  Alleghanies,  which,  in  their  tongue,  signifies 
the  Ei)dles.<,  attains  its  greatest  elevation  in  the  Black  Mountain 
group,  in  the  AVestern  part  of  this  State. 

Tliis  group  lies  pai'tly  within  the  counties  of  Yancey,  McDowell 
and  Buncombe;  and  the  tallest  peak  of  the  cluster,  and  of  all  the 
peaks  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  is  Mt.  Mitchell.  From  its 
dominatmg  summit  there  is  thrown  off  a  ridge  which  runs  west, 
south,  and  southwest,  in  a  zigzag  shape,  idternated  -odth  deep  gaps, 
tall  simimits  and  fi-ightful  precipices,  until  it  melts  away  in  the  pe- 
ninsiila  of  plain  which  is  enclosed  by  the  waters  of  the  Swanuanoa 
.and  the  French  Broad  in  the  county  of  Buncombe. 

In  this  range,  about  seven  miles  from  where  these  waters  meet, 
there  is  a  httle  gorge-Hke  valley  scooped  out  of  its  western  slope, 
which  spreads  its  narrow  bosom  precisely  in  the  face  of  the  setting 
sun.  The  tall  dome  of  Mt.  Mitchell  hteraUy  casts  its  shadow  over 
this  mountain-cradled  vale,  as  the  sun  first  comes  up  from  the 
Eastern  sea. 

Great  ridges  hem  it  in  on  either  side,  gradually  melting  on  the 
tr^        south  into  tlie  sloping  hills  on  which  stands  the  town  of  Ashe^dlle. 


^ 


A  bold  fresli  brook  from  springs  liigb  up  in  the  lieai-t  of  the  moun- 
tain, rijjples  through  tlie  bottom  of  this  vale,  rehiforced  by  a  hun- 
di-ed  smaller  streams  pouring  from  the  ravines  on  the  right  and 
left,  and  empties  its  bright  fresh  floods  mto  the  French  Broad,  five 
miles  below  the  county  seat.  Near  the  very  head  of  this  valle]-  is 
a  charming  little-  homestead,  consisting  of  fertile  bits  of  meadow 
on  the  brook-side,  above  which  are  open  fields  swelling  upwards 
to  the  skirts  of  the  mountain  forests.  In  the  midst  of  these  fields, 
where  the  gi'ound  slopes  gently  towards  the  brook,  there  stood, 
about  the  beginning  of  this  century,  an  old-fashioned  log-house  of 
the  kind  familiarly  known  to  our  mountain  j^eople  as  a  "  double- 
cabin."  An  orchard  of  a  growth  and  fruitful  luxiu'iance  peculiar 
to  that  region,  surrounded  the  house  and  curtilage,  imparting  that 
afr  of  rustic  beauty  and  abundance  which  constitutes  a  sjjecial 
charm  in  sunple  country  homes. 

This  spot  at  the  period  indicated,  was  the  home  of  an  honest, 
\ipright  and  intelligent  man,  whose  name  was  George  Swain;  and 
here,  on  the  4:th  day  of  January,  1801,  was  bom  the  child  who 
became  the  man  to  whose  memory  we  desire  to  do  honor  this  day. 

David  Lowrds  Swain  was  the  second  son  and  child  of  George  aiid 
Carohue  Swain.  His  father  was  of  English  descent,  and  was  born 
in  Roxboro,  Massachusetts,  in  1763.  He  came  South  and  settled 
in  Wilkes,  now  Oglethorpe  county,  in  Georgia,  sei-ved  in  the  Leg- 
islature of  that  State  five  years,  and  was  a  member  of  the  conven- 
tion that  revised  the  Constitution  of  Georgia,  His  health  faihng, 
he  removed  to  Buncombe  county,  N.  C,  in  1795,  and  was  one  of 
its  earliest  settlers.  He  was  for  many  years  Postmaster  at  Ashe- 
ville,  and  until  within  two  years  of  his  death;  becoming  insane  a 
year  or  two  previous  to  that  event.  Soon  after  his  settlement  in 
Buncombe,  he  was  married  to  Caroline  Lowrie,  a  widow,  whose 
maiden  name  was  Lane,  a  sister  of  Joel  Lane,  the  founder  of  the 
city  of  Kaleigh,  and  of  Jesse  Lane,  the  father  of  Gen.  Joe  Lane, 
late  U.  S.  Senator  from  Oregon,  and  Democratic  candidate  for 
Vice-President  on  the  ticket  with  Gen.  Breckinridge  m  1860.  This 
lady  had  three  children  by  her  first  husband,  one  of  whom,  the 
late  Col.  James  Lowrie,  of  Buncombe  county,  lived  and  died  a 
citizen  of  most  excellent  repute.  By  her  last  husband  she  had 
seven  children.     AU  of  these  are  now  dead. 

George  Swain  was  by  trade  a  hatter,  but  hke  all  the  thrifty  men 
of  his  daj',  he  combined  farming  with  his  shop,  and  was  a  success- 
ful man  in  both,  as  success  was  then  measui-ed.  Whilst  his  hats 
were  famous  all  the  county  over,  his  httle  farm  on  Beaver  Dam, 
the  name  of  the  stream  on  which  it  was  located,  was  considered  a 
pattern  in  that  period  of  nide  agriculture.  His  apple-trees,  under 
the  shade  of  which  young  David  was  born  and  reared,  were  the 
product  of  cuttings  brought  aU  the  way  from  INIassachusetts — a 
great  and  tedious  journey  then — and  some  of  the  varieties  which 
he  thus  imported  stiU  remain  in  that  region  by  the  names  which 
he  gfave  them. 


He  was  a  man  of  some  learning  and  much  intelligence,  mixed 
■with  a  considerable  degl-ee  of  eccentricity.  Like  all  New  Eng- 
landers  he  believed  much  in  education,  and  struggled  constantly 
to  impart  it  to  his  children.  He  was  possessed  of  a  most  wonder- 
ful memory,  and  I  have  heaa'd  it  said  hj  a  lady  who,  as  a  gii'l,  was 
intimate  in  his  house,  that  he  often  entertained  her  and  other 
visitors  for  hours  together  with  the  recitation  of  poems,  without 
book  or  manuscript. 

In  this  humble  but  instructive  home,  secluded  from  anything 
that  could  be  termed  fashionable  society,  but  trained  to  industry, 
and  instructed  in  the  ways  of  integrity,  young  David  Swain's 
early  youth  was  passed.  I  cannot  subscribe  to  the  phi-ase  so 
usually  employed  in  describing  such  biographical  beginnings  as 
this,  when  it  is  said  that  the  subject  of  the  memoir  was  "without 
the  advantages  of  birth."  In  fact,  for  a  child  to  be  born  amid  such 
surroundings,  and  with  such  blood  in  his  veins  as  coursed  through 
those  of  young  Swain,  constitute  the  very  highest  advantages 
which  could  surround  the  birth  and  bringing  up  of  a  young  man 
who  was  to  fight  his  way  in  a  country  like  oiu's. 

The  surest  elements  of  success  are  commonly  found  in  the 
absence  of  indulgences  in  youth,  and  the  most  successful  warriors 
against  fate  are  those  who  are  taught  by  stern  necessity  to  fight 
early. 

Gov.  Swaui  was  fond  of  recurring  to  the  scenes  and  influences  of 
his  early  life,  and  always  felt  that  he  had  been  fortunate  in  jdos- 
sessing  a  father  to  whom  he  could  look  with  respect  and  confidence. 
He  maintained  a  close  and  confidential  correspondence  with  hun 
from  the  time  he  left  his  roof  to  make  his  own  way,  and  often  re- 
ferred to  it  as  having  had  a  most  beneficial  influence  uj)on  him. 

In  the  summer  vacation  of  1852,  he  visited  Buncombe,  and  I 
accompanied  him  out  to  Beaver  Dam  to  see  once  more  the  place 
of  his  birth,  then  and  now  in  the  possession  of  the  Rev.  Thomas 
Stradly.  On  a  spot  not  very  far  from  the  house,  he  stopped  and 
told  me  that  near  this  place  Avas  the  first  time  he  ever  saw  a  wagon. 
This  wondrous  vehicle,  he  said,  belonged  to  Zebulon  and  Bedent 
Baird,  the  grandfather  and  great  uncle  of  your  sj)eaker; 
Scotchmen  by  bii'th,  who  came  to  North  Carolina  some  time  pre- 
vious to  1790,  by  way  of  New  Jersey. 

There  being  no  road  for  such  vehicles,  this  wagon  had  ap- 
proached the  house  of  Mr.  George  Swain,  he  said,  in  the  washed  out 
channel  of  the  creek,  and  the  futui'e  Governor  of  North  Carolina 
stood  in  the  orchard  waiting  its  approach  with  wonder  and  awe, 
and  finally,  as  its  thunder  reverberated  in  his  ears,  as  it  rolled 
over  the  rocky  channel  of  the  creek,  he  incontinently  took  to  his 
heels,  and  orAj  rallied  when  safely  entrenched  behind  his  father's 
house.  He  enjoyed  the  relation  of  this  to  me  exquisitely.  As  a 
palliation  of  his  childish  ignorance,  however,  he  added  that  this 
was  the  first  wasfon  which  had  crossed  the  Blue  Ridge. 


With  healthful  labor  at  home,  and  healthful  instiaiction  by  the 
fireside,  the  days  of  his  early  childhood  passed,  till  he  attainetl  the 
age  at  which  his  careful  father  thought  he  should  be  placed  under 
other  instructors.  At  the  age  of  1 5  he  was  accordingly  sent  to  the 
school  near  AshevUle,  called  the  Newton  Academy.  Its  founder 
and  first  teacher  was  the  Rev.  George  Newton,  a  Presbji^eiian 
clergyman  of  good  repute,  who  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Mr.  Porter, 
another  Presbyterian  clergyman,  and  then  by  the  late  Wm.  Smith, 
of  Georgia,  familiarly  known  as  "long  Billy."  This  Academy  was 
justly  famous  in  that  region,  and  educated  in  whole  or  in  part 
many  of  the  prominent  citizens  of  that  country  beyond  the  Blue 
Ridge,  and  elsewhere.  Gov.  B.  F.  Perry  and  Hon.  Waddy  Thomp- 
son, of  South  Carolina,  M.  Patton,  R.  B.  Vance,  James  W.  Patton, 
James  Ei-win,  and  man}^  others  of  North  Carolina,  were  classmates 
of  young  Swain  at  that  school.  A  lady  v/ho  is  now  Uving  and  was 
also  a  schoolmate  of  his  there,  tells  me  he  was  a  niost  exemplary 
boy  and  diligent  student,  soon  and  clearly  outstripping  all  his  asso- 
ciates in  the  acquisition  of  knowledge.  This  superiority  was 
doubtless  due  to  the  aid  of  an  exceedingly  strong  and  tenacious 
memory  which  he  inherited  from  his  father,  and  which  character- 
ized him  through  life.  Mr.  M.  Patton  informs  me  that  young 
Swain  taught  Latin  in  the  same  school  for  several  months. 

I  am  not  aware  that  he  attended  any  other  school  till  he  came 
to  the  University  in  1821;  in  that  year  he  entered  the  Junior  class, 
but  only  remained  some  four  months.  Want  of  means  most  prob- 
ably prevented  him  from  graduating.  In  1822  he  entered  upon 
the  study  of  the  law  in  the  office  of  Chief  Justice  Taylor,  in 
Raleigh.  He  obtained  license  to  practise  in  December,  1822 ;  and 
referring  to  that  event  in  his  address  at  the  opening  of  Tucker 
HaU,  August,  1867,  forty-five  years  afterwards,  he  gives  a  most 
entertaining  picture  of  the  Supreme  Coiu-t  which  granted  his 
license,  and  of  the  great  North  Carolina  lawyers  who  at  that  time 
were  practicing  before  its  bar. 

Returning  to  the  mountains,  with  his  license  in  his  pocket  and 
a  sweetheart  in  his  eye,  he  went  hopefuUy  to  work,  and  became 
almost  immediately  in  possession  of  a  lucrative  practice.  The  good 
people  of  his  native  county  were  quick  to  perceive  his  talents  and 
integrity,  and  in  1824  he  was  elected  a  meml^er  of  the  House  of 
Commons  from  Buncombe.  So  great  was  the  satisfaction  which 
his  conduct  in  that  capacity  gave  to  his  constituents,  that  they  con- 
tinued him  as  their  member  by  sviccessive  elections  until  1829. 

In  his  cliaracter  as  Legislator  he  was  most  distinguished  for  his 
industry  and  attention  to  details,  especially  in  the  department  of 
statistics  and  taxation,  in  which  he  soon  became  the  highest 
authority  in  the  body  of  wliich  he  was  a  member.  He  was  promi- 
nent in  getting  the  biU  passed  for  the  building  of  the  French 
Broad  Tm-npike,  a  measvu-e  wliich  revolutionized  the  intercourse 
between  Tennessee,  Kentucky  and  South  Carolina,  bringing  an 
immense  stream  of  emigration,  travel  and  trade  throuerh  western 


North  Carolina,  and  adding  greatly  to  his  own  iDopiilarity  among 
the  people  of  that  region. 

In  1829_he  was  elected  by  the  Legislature  SoKcitor  of  the 
Edenton  Circuit,  a  circumstance  remarkable  in  our  legal  annals, 
both  on  account  of  his  extreme  youth  at  the  time  of  his  election  to 
so  important  an  office,  and  because  the  Edenton  Circuit  was  in  the 
most  distant  part  of  the  State  from  his  residence,  and  it  had  been 
the  custom  to  select  for  that  office  a  lawyer  residing  in  the  district 
for  which  he  was  elected.  This  compHment  to  his  learning  and 
ability  was  conferred  upon  him  without  sohcitation,  under  the  fol- 
lowing circumstances: 

A  bitter  contest  had  sprung  up  between  two  candidates  for  that 
position,  one  of  whom  was  the  notorious  Robert  Potter,  and  the 
fiiends  of  neither  consenting  to  give  way,  by  common  consent  both 
sides  agreed  to  take  young  Swain. 

He  rode  only  one  circuit,  when  the  next  Legislature  elected  him 
a  Judge  of  the  Superior  Court  over  Judge  Seawell,  then  an  able  and 
eminent  practitioner  at  the  Raleigh  bar.  Swain  waijkat  that  time 
the  youngest  man  ever  elevated  to  the  Bench  in  this  State,  except 
Judge  Badger,  who  was  elected  at  the  age  of  twenty-six,  He  had 
ridden  four  circuits  as  Judge  vnth  great  acceptance,  when  in  1832 
he  was  elected  by  the  Legislature  to  be  Governor  of  the  State  over 
several  competitors,  and  was  inaugurated  on  the  1st  day  of  Jan- 
uary, 1832.  Under  the  Constitution  of  1776  the  term  of  the  Gov- 
ernor was  only  one  year,  and  Gov.  Swain  was  re-elected  in  1833 
and  1834  successively.  Just  previous  to  the  close  of  his  official 
term  in  1835  he  was  elected  President  of  the  State  University, 
under  the  following  circumstances: 

It  is  said  that  he  would  have  continued  in  pohtics  if  the  wav  had 
then  been  clear  for  him  to  go  to  the  U.  S.  Senate;  or  that  he  would 
have  continued  in  the  law,  could  he  then  have  returned  to  the 
bench.  But  the  way  to  neither  being  at  that  time  open  to  him,  he 
had  no  desire  to  return  to  the  j^ractice  of  law,  or  to  continue  fur- 
ther in  State  politics,  in  which  he  had  already  attained  the  highest 
honors  which  his  State  had  to  bestow.  Under  these  circumstances, 
he  turned  his  eyes  towards  the  Presidency  of  the  University,  va- 
cant smce  January,  1835,  by  the  death  of  the  venerable  and  la- 
mented Dr  Joseph  Caldwell.  But  great  as  Avas  his  reputation  as 
lawyer  and  pohtician,  his  character  as  a  scholar  was  by  no  means 
so  established,  nor  had  pubhc  attention  been  directed  to  him  as  a 
fit  person  to  take  charge  of  an  institution  of  learning.  He  one  day 
called  his  friend,  Judge  Nash,  into  the  Executive  office  and  told  him 
frankly  that  he  desired  to  be  made  President  of  the  University; 
and  seeing  that  the  Judge  did  not  express  much  approbation  of  the 
project,  he  asked  him  to  consult  with  Judge  Cameron,  and  if  they 
two  did  not  approve  of  it,  he  would  abandon  the  idea.  Nash 
promised  to  do  so,  and  on  meeting  Judge  Cameron,  gave  him  hir 
opinion  that  Swain  would  not  do  for  the  place.  Cameron,  however, 
dissented  at  once,  saying  that  Swain  was  the  verv  man;  that  though 


it  was  true  lie  was  not  a  scholar,  yet  he  had  all  the  other  necessary- 
elements  of  success;  and  that  the  man  who  had  shown  he  knew  so 
well  how  to  manage  men,  could  not  fail  to  know  how  to  manage 
boys.  So,  at  the  next  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Trustees,  Jiidge 
Cameron  nominated  him  and  secured  his  election  to  the  Presi- 
dency.    This  closed  his  political  and  judicial  career. 

I  have  omitted  to  mention,  however,  in  its  chronological  order, 
a  most  important  part  of  that  career.  In  1835,  whilst  Governor, 
he  was  elected  a  delegate  from  the  county  of  Buncombe  to  the 
Convention  of  that  year  which  amended  the  Constitution.  Per- 
haps no  portion  of  his  political  seiwice  was  of  greater  importance 
to  the  State  than  that  which  he  rendered  as  a  member  of  that 
Convention.  His  sagacity,  liberality,  and  profound  acquaintance 
with  the  statistics  of  the  State,  and  with  the  history  of  the  Consti- 
tutional principles  of  Government  contributed  very  largely  to  the 
formation  of  that  admirable  instrument,  the  Constitution  of  1885, 
a  more  excellent  one  than  which,  our  surroundings  considered,  was 
never  framed  by  any  English  speaking  people.  Few  men  in  our 
annals  have  fisen  in  life  more  rapidly  than  he,  or  sooner  attained 
the  highest  honors  in  every  branch  of  the  Government,  Legislative, 
Judicial  and  Executive.  In  making  an  estimate  of  his  character 
and  capacity  in  these  offices,  we  shall  be  compelled,  beyond  doubt, 
to  conclude  that  it  required  very  substantial  abilities  to  enable  him 
thus  to  reach  and  sustain  liimself  creditably  in  them  all. 

His  practice  as  a  lawyer  was  a  veiy  lucrative  one  to  have  been 
acquired  at  so  early  an  age.  As  an  evidence  of  the  esteem  in  which 
his  abilities  and  learning  were  held,  he  was,  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
seven,  when  he  had  been  a  lawyer  but  four  years,  retained  as 
counsel  for  the  State  of  North  Carolina  with  Geo.  E.  Badger,  in  a 
most  complicated  mass  of  litigation,  involving  the  title  to  more 
land  than  was  ever  sued  for  under  one  title  in  our  State  (except 
perhaps,  that  instituted  by  the  heirs  of  Lord  GmnviLle  in  1804.) 
Several  hundred  thousand  acres  of  land  had  been  granted  to 
Wniiam  Cathcart,  Huldeman,  and  Elseman,  citizens  of  Pennsylvania, 
l}dng  in  the  counties  of  Burke,  Buncombe,  Haywood,  and  Macon. 
Subsequently,  these  same  lands  in  great  part  were  sold  in  smaller 
lots  to  settler  citizens  by  the  State,  under  the  belief  that  when 
patented  originally  by  Cathcart  and  others,  they  were  not  subject 
to  entry,  for  the  reason  that  they  were  within  the  boundaries  which 
had  been  reserved  to  the  Indians  by  various  treaties.  One  hundred 
suits  in  ejectment  were  brought  against  these  settlers  in  the  Circuit 
Court  of  the  United  States  by  the  heirs  of  Cathcart.  All  these 
actions  were  dependent  on  similar  facts,  and  each  one  involved  the 
vaUdity,  accuracy  and  definite  character  of  vaiious  sui-veys  made  at 
sundry  different  times  during  a  period  of  nearly  half  a  century 
previous  thereto,  under  treaties  between  the  State  and  the  Cherokee 
Indians,  and  between  the  United  States  and  the  same  Indian  tribe. 
The  State  resolved  to  defend  the  titles  it  had  given  to  its  citizens, 
and  employed  Badger  and  Swain  to  contend  with  Mr.  Gaston  who 


was  for  tlie  jDlaintiffs — a  very  high  comphment  to  both  of  them. 
Here  was  a  lield  wherein  Gov.  Swain  had  no  superior,  and  where 
liis  pecuHar  talents  came  specially  into  play.  A  complicated  maze 
of  long  forgotten  facts  was  to  be  resurrected  from  buried  docu- 
ments, dimly  traced  sum-eyors'  hnes  and  corners  through  hundreds 
of  miles  of  tangled  mountain  forests  were  to  be  established, 
pai-tly  by  the  evidence  of  old  grey -haired  woodmen,  and  partly  by 
the  fading  outhnes  of  the  rude  maps  and  indistinct  field-notes  of 
the  survej'ors  of  that  day;  and  old  treaties  and  musty  statutes  were 
to  be  brought  out  of  the  dust  and  made  to  speak  in  behalf  of  the 
rights  of  our  jjeople. 

In  such  a  work  his  soul  dehghted,  and  to  his  faithful  labors  and 
indefatigable  energy  must  the  iinal  success  of  the  State  be  mainly 
attributed.  For  though  he  was  j)ut  on  the  bench,  and  from  the 
bench  was  made  Governor  before  the  test  case  was  tried  in  1832 
and  the  victory  won,  he  never  ceased  his  labors  in  this  behalf,  and 
his  oliicial  letter-book  of  that  j^eriod  is  filled  with  evidences  of  his 
zeal  and  research.  Judge  Badger,  who  was  as  generous  as  he  was 
great,  and  who  followed  the  case  up  to  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
United  States,  where  he  was  assisted  by  Mr.  Webster,  frankly 
acknowledged  tiiat  the  cause  was  won  mainly  by  the  careful 
preparation  of  Swain.  Another  circumstance  connected  with  this 
litigation,  worth  the  mention  in  these  days  is,  that  notwithstanding 
the  vast  amount  of  valuable  work  he  had  done  already,  yet  because 
the  cases  wer.e  not  concluded  when  he  was  made  a  judge,  Gov. 
Swain  voluntarily  returned  half  of  his  retainer  into  the  Treasury. 
All  of  wliich  goes  to  show  that  in  selecting  liim  out  of  so  many  able 
and  older  lawyers  to  assist  Mr.  Badger,  the  State  had  chosen  wisely 
indeed.  There  were  giants  in  those  days,  and  the  giants  were 
honest. 

During  his  service  in  the  Legislature  no  great  or  exciting  issues 
were  before  the  people,  and  his  career  there  displays  no  extraordi- 
narj-  effort  in  any  dii-ection.  He  soon  accjuired,  however,  a  high 
reputation  for  learning  and  industry  in  dealing  with  the  practical 
questions  of  the  day,  among  which  then  was  the  very  vexed  one 
of  the  ratio  of  representation  in  the  Legislature  between  the  East, 
where  were  many  slaves,  and  the  West,  where  there  were  few. 
This  finally  forced  the  calling  of  the  Convention  in  1835.  It  was, 
however,  an  era  of  great  political  importance,  viewed  in  the  hght 
of  subseqiient  events.  The  great  poHtical  jDarties — W^hig  and 
Democratic — which  have  shaped  the  destinies  of  these  United 
States  for  full  half  a  century,  were  then  crystallizing  from  the 
confused  and  crude  opinions  of  our  early  American  pohtics.  AU 
thinking  men  began  about  this  period  to  range  themselves  with 
one  or  the  other  of  the  schools  which  undertook  to  construe  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States,  to  ascertain  its  meaning  and  its 
powers,  and  to  define  its  relations  with  the  States.  A  gigantic, 
and  as  it  would  seem,  an  endless  task  indeed.  Swain  sided  with 
Adams,  Clay  and  Webster,  whose  followers  began  to  be  called 


8 

Whigs.  Of  tlie  j)rominent  men  of  that  day,  who  ap:reed  with  him, 
or  with  whom  he  agreed,  were  Gaston,  Morehead,  Badger,  Man- 
gtim,  Cherry,  Graham,  Stanly,  Moore,  Miller,  Outlaw,  Raj^ner,  and 
many  others.  Of  those  who  adhered  to  the  school  of  Jefferson  and 
Calhovm,  were  the  venerable  Macon,  Ruffin,  Haywood,  Saunders, 
Branch,  Edwards,  Seawell,  Shepherd,  Donnell,  Fisher,  Craige, 
Venable,  and  many  more  of  equal  talents.  It  is  not  practicable  to 
enumerate  aU  the  mighty  men  of  that  day,  who  controlled  our 
affairs,  and  gave  tone  and  character  to  our  society.  No  State  in 
the  Union  had  a  larger  list  of  very  able  citizens,  and  we  can  pay 
no  higher  compliment  to  Gov.  Swain  than  to  say  that  he  rose  up 
among  such,  and  was  the  peer  of  them  all. 

As  before  stated,  he  rode  but  four  circuits  as  Judge.  From  all 
his  decisions  during  that  time,  there  came  up  but  eighteen  appeals. 
Of  these,  thirteen  w^ere  sustained  by  the  Supreme  Court,  consist- 
ing of  Ruffin,  Henderson  and  HaU,  and  in  one  other  he  was 
sustained  by  the  dissenting  opinion  of  Chief  Jiistice  Ruffin,  leaving 
but  four  in  which  he  was  unanimously  overruled.  This,  says  Mr. 
Moore,  who  is  now  our  highest  living  authority  in  matters  relating 
to  the  law,  is  an  evidence  of  judicial  ability  more  satisfactory  than 
could  elsewhere  have  been  furnished  among  our  Judges,  and  no 
higher  compliment  could  have  been  paid  him.  Mr.  Moore  also 
informs  me  that  Swain  was  very  pojDular  as  a  Judge,  even  in  those 
days  when  the  only  road  to  popularity  in  that  office  was  the  honest 
and  able  discharge  of  its  exalted  duties.  In  the  contest  for  Judge, 
when  he  was  elected  over  Judge  Seawell,  he  first  acqtiu'ed  a  nick- 
name which  stuck  to  him  till  after  he  retired  from  politics.  Re- 
peated attempts  with  various  candidates  had  been  made  to  defeat 
Seawell,  who  was  obnoxious  to  tlie  party  to  which  Swain  belonged, 
but  all  these  efforts  had  failed  until  his  name  was  brought  forward. 
"Then,"  said  an  enthusiastic  member  from  Iredell,  "we  took  up  old 
'warping  bars'  from  Buncombe,  and  warped  him  out."  Aft^i"  the 
Governor  became  President  of  the  University  he  lost  this  humorous 
and  not  ill-fitting  sobriquet,  and  acquired  from  the  College  wits  the 
geographical  descriptio  personae,  "Old  Bunk,"  which  adhered  to  him 
through  life. 

The  official  letter-book  of  Gov.  Swain  dviring  his  administration 
shows  that  his  time  and  labors  were  j)rincipally  devoted  to  the 
questions  of  constitutional  reform;  the  coast  defences  of  North 
CaroHna;  the  claims  of  the  State  against  the  general  government; 
the  removal  and  settlement  of  the  Cherokee  Indians;  the  adjust- 
ment of  land  titles  in  the  West,  and  other  matters  of  domestic 
concern. 

During  this  time,  however,  many  letters  of  literary  and  historic 
importance  were  written  by  him.  There  is  found  on  those  pages 
a  letter  written  by  Mr.  Jno.  C.  Hamilton,  of  New  York,  son  of 
Alexander  Hamilton,  pi-oj^ounding  eleven  inquiries  relating  to  the 
History  of  North  CaroHna;  more  particularly  with  regard  to  the 
system  of  her  Colonial  and  early  State  taxation;  and  the  reasons  of 


9 

certain  action  of  her  (Convention  in  regard  to  the  adoption  of  the 
Federal  Constitution,  and  kindred  topics.  Gov.  Swain's  repHes  to 
these  queries  show  a  wonderful  amount  of  information  and  re- 
search into  the  minuter  sources  of  our  early  history;  clearly  indi- 
cating that  he  was  possessed  in  a  high  degree  of  those  pecuUar 
talents  which  constitute  the  true  historian.  Most  of  his  hterary 
labor  throughout  his  hfe  was  in  this  department,  and  his  collec- 
tions were  especially  rich  in  the  early  history  of  North  Carolina. 
"Who  is  there  left  now  in  our  State  able  to  use  the  material  for  its 
History  which  he  had  been  accumulating  through  so  many  years  ? 
To  this  great  work  he  had  intended  to  devote  the  closing  years  of 
his  life.  What  stores  of  information  perished  with  him  !  He  was 
the  special  vindicator  of  that  much-abused  and  much-misunder- 
stood class  of  men,  the  Regulators  of  our  colonial  times.  No  man 
in  the  State  has  done  so  much  to  clear  their  fame — few  have  been 
so  competent.  The  papers  contributed  by  him  to  the  N.  C.  Univer- 
sity Magazine  on  the  subject,  would  form  a  volume  if  collected,  and 
theii"  great  value  is  indicated  by  the  numerous  inquiries  instituted 
for  them  by  men  in  various  States  of  the  Union.  His  lectiire  before 
the  Historical  Society  in  18.52,  may  be  said  to  have  settled  the 
question  of  the  merits  of  the  Regulators,  and  their  service  to  hberty. 

It  was  during  his  administration  that  the  only  white  woman  was 
executed  who  ever  suffered  the  extreme  penalty  of  the  law  in 
North  Carolina.  This  was  a  Mrs.  Silvers,  of  Burke  county,  hung 
for  the  murder  of  her  husband.  So  far  as  my  knowledge  extends, 
but  one  other,  a  colored  woman,  has  ever  been  hung  in  this  State. 
As  Governor  of  the  State,  in  1833,  he  laid  the  corner  stone  of  the 
present  capitol  amid  imposing  ceremonies;  a  building  designed 
with  perhaj)s  as  j)ure  and  simple  taste  as  any  in  America,  and  as 
soHd  and  enduring  as  an}^  in  the  world. 

On  the  12th  of  Januar}^  1826,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Eleanor  ■ 
H.  AATiite,  daughter  of  Wm.  White,  Secretary  of  State,  and  grand-  | 
daughter  of  Gov.  Caswell,  a  union  productive  of  great  domestic 
happiness  to  a  man  so  fitted  as  he  by  nature,  and  by  a  life  of 
unsulhed  purity  to  appreciate  the  ties  of  home,  and  the  love  of 
wdfe  and  children.  B}'  this  lady  there  were  born  to  him  several 
children,  of  whom  but  three,  two  daughters  and  a  son,  ever  reached 
maturity.  His  oldest  son,  David,  who  died  in  childhood,  was  a 
boy  of  great  promise.  His  eldest  child  and  daughter,  Anne,  died 
unmarried  in  1867.  The  second  daughter,  and  now  only  sui-viving 
child,  Eleanor  Hope,  married  Gen.  S.  D.  Atkins,  of  Freeport,  Ilh- 
nois,  where  she  now  resides.  The  son,  Richard  Caswell,  was  killed 
a  few  years  since,  near  his  home  in  Bhnois,  being  crushed  to  death 
by  falling  between  two  railroad  cars  while  in  motion.  There  is 
now  no  male  representative  of  the  name  surviving. 

From  the  time  that  Gov.  Swain  entered  upon  his  duties  as 

President  of  the  University,  his  career  is  marked  by  few  notable 

events  of  which  his  biographer  can  make  mention.     Although  the 

"work  he  did  here  was  undoubtedly  the  great  work  of  his  hfe,  it  is 

2 


10 

impossible  for  us  to  compute  it.  As  with  the  silent  forces  of  nature 
whicli  we  know  to  be  the  greatest  that  are  exerted  in  this  world, 
but  which  yet  elude  the  grasp  of  our  senses;  so  is  it  impossible  for 
us  to  measru'e  the  power  of  the  able  and  faithful  teacher.  The 
connections  between  moral  cause  and  effect  are  much  more  di£&- 
cult  to  trace  than  those  between  physical  cause  and  ^ffect,  but 
althoiigh  in  either  case  the  lines  are  diia  the  wise  do  not  fail  to  see 
that  they  are  there,  and  that  the  results  are  powerful.  It  is  con- 
ceded that  the  imperceptible  and  benign  force  of  light  and  heat 
which  hfts  the  mighty  oak  out  of  the  earth,  and  spreads  its  branches 
to  the  skies,  is  iafinitely  greater  than  that  of  the  noisy  whirlwind 
which  prostrates  it  in  the  dust. 

Says  Mr.  Herbert  Spencer:  "In  every  series  of  dependent 
changes,  a  small  initial  difference  often  works  a  marked  dSerence 
in  the  results.  The  mode  in  which  a  particular  breaker  bursts  on 
the  beach  may  determine  whether  the  seed  of  some  foreign  plant 
which  it  bears,  is  or  is  not  stranded,  may  cause  the  presence  or 
absence  of  this  plant  from  the  Flora  of  the  land,  and  may  so  affect 
for  millions  of  years  in  countless  ways,  the  Hving  creatures  through- 
out the  earth.  The  whole  tenor  of  a  hfe  may  be  changed  by  a 
single  word  of  advice,  or  a  glance  may  determine  an  action  which 
alters  thoughts,  feelings  and  deeds  throughout  a  long  series  of 
years." 

We  know  that  the  moral  tone  of  a  community  is  the  maia-spring 
of  its  glory  or  its  shame;  that  that  tone  is  to  a  great  extent  im- 
parted by  its  educated  men;  we  know,  too,  that  no  man  has  ever 
lived  in  North  Carolina  whose  opportunities  for  thus  influencing 
those  who  control  her  destinies  have  been  greater  than  Gov. 
Swain's  were ;  and  I  am  quite  sure  that  no  man  ever  more  diligently 
and  earnestly  improved  those  opportunities.  There  is  this  too,  fur- 
ther and  better  to  be  said,  that  in  the  whole  course  of  his  contact  with 
the  young  men  of  North  CaroUna  and  of  the  South  at  this  Univer- 
sity for  a  third  of  a  century,  the  whole  weight  of  every  particle  of 
influence  which  he  possessed  was  exerted  in  behalf  of  good  morals, 
good  government,  patriotism  and  rehgion.  The  sparks  of  good 
which  he  ehcited,  the  trains  of  generous  ambition  which  he  set  on 
fire,  the  number  of  young  Hves  which  his  teachings  have  directed 
into  the  j)aths  of  vu'tue  and  knowledge,  and  colored  with  the  hues 
of  heaven,  who  but  God  shall  teU?  If  we  could  see  events  and 
analyse  destinies  as  only  the  Most  High  can,  how  wondrous  would 
appear  the  hai'vest  of  David  L.  Swain's  sowing  !  How  many  great 
thoughts  worked  out  in  the  still  watches  of  the  night;  how  many 
noble  orations  in  the  Forum  stirring  the  hearts  of  men;  how  many 
eloquent  and  momentous  discourses  in  the  pulj)it;  how  many  bold 
strokes  of  patriotic  statesmanship;  how  many  daring  deeds  and 
sublime  deaths  on  bloody  fields  of  battle;  how  many  good  and 
generous  and  honest  things  done  in  secret;  how  many  evil  things 
and  sore  temptations  resisted;  in  short,  how  much  of  that  which 
constitutes  the  public  and  private  virtue  of  our  people,  the  pros- 


11 

perity,  the  honor,  and  the  glory  of  our  State  might  not  be  traced 
to  the  initial  inspiration  of  ^)a^'id  L.  Swain !  Say  what  you  Avill  for 
the  mighty  things  done  by  the  mighty  ones  of  earth,  but  here  is 
the  truest  honor  and  renown. 

For  whether  there  be  prophecies,  they  shall  fail;  whether  there 
be  tongues,  they  shaU  cease ;  whether  there  be  knowledge,  it  shall 
vanish  away;  but  he  that  helps  to  shape  an  immortal  soul,  and  fit 
it  for  the  senice  of  Heaven  and  humanity,  verily  his  memory  shall 
endure  until  that  which  is  perfect  is  come. 

How  well  do  I  remember  the  many  occasions  during  my  sojourn 
at  the  University,  when  he  as  my  preceptor,  esteeming  such  influ- 
ences of  greater  importance  to  the  class  than  the  texts  of  the 
lessons,  would  for  the  time  give  his  whole  soul  to  the  stii'ring  up 
of  these  generous  and  emulous  sentiments  in  the  hearts  of  his 
pupUs.  The  very  first  recitation  in  which  I  ever  appeared  before 
him  was  one  such.  I  shall  never,  never  forget  it.  In  1851,  I 
entered  the  University,  and  joined  the  senior  class  as  an  irregular. 
This  first  lesson  was  in  Constitutional  Law.  A  single  general 
question  was  asked  and  answered  as  to  the  subject  in  hand,  and 
then  he  began  to  discoui'se  of  Chancellor  Kent,  whose  treatise  we 
were  studying;  from  Kent  he  went  to  Story,  fi'om  Story  to  Mar- 
shall, repeating  anecdotes  of  the  great  Americans  who  had  framed 
and  interpreted  our  organic  law;  and  touching  upon  the  debate 
between  Hayne  and  Webster.  From  these,  he  went  back  and 
back  to  the  men  and  the  times  when  the  great  seminal  principles 
of  Anglo-Saxon  hberty  were  eliminated  from  feudal  chaos,  and 
placed  one  by  one  as  stones  polished  by  the  genius  of  the  wise, 
and  cemented  by  the  blood  of  the  brave,  in  the  walls  of  the  temple 
of  Inmian  freedom.  He  told  us  of  the  eloquence  of  Burke,  of  the 
genius  of  Chatham;  he  took  us  into  the  prison  of  Eliott  and  went 
with  us  to  the  death-bed  of  Hampden;  into  the  closet  with  Coke 
and  Seargent  Maynard;  and  to  the  Forum  Avhere  Somers  sjjoke; 
to  the  deck  of  the  Brill  where  Wihiam,  the  deliverer,  stood  as  he 
gazed  upon  the  shores  of  England;  to  the  scaffolds  of  Sydney  and 
of  our  own  glorious  Raleigh.  Warming  as  he  went  with  the  gioAving 
theme,  walking  up  and  down  tlie  recitation  room,  which  was  then 
the  Library  of  the  "old  South,"  with  long  and  awkward  strides, 
heaving  those  heavy  passionate  sighs,  which  were  alwa^-s  with  him 
the  witnesses  of  deep  emotion,  he  would  now  and  then  stop,  reach 
down  fr-om  its  shelf  a  A'olume  of  some  old  Poet,  and  read  -oath 
trembling  voice  some  grand  and  glowing  words  addressed  to  man's 
truest  ambition,  that  thrilled  om-  souls  like  a  song  of  the  chief 
musician.  A  profound  silence  was  evidence  of  the  deej)  attention 
of  the  class,  and  the  hour  passed  almost  before  we  knew  it  had 
began. 

I  afterwards  learned  that  this  lecture  was  intended  for  my  ben- 
•efit,  as  I  was  a  stranger  to  the  class  and  had  entered  it  under  some 
disadvantages,  and  in  his  kindness  of  heart  he  supposed  I  needed 
some  eucoui-agement.     But  such  were  frequently  given  us.     Nor 


12 

were  these  digressions  from  the  chief  business  of  the  hour  always 
of  a  seiious  nature.  The  gayest  wit  and  brightest  humor  often 
illumined  the  moments  when  not  content  with  putting  forth  his 
own  conceits,  he  exerted  himself  to  draw  forth  those  of  the  class, 
and  if  he  succeeded  sometimes  in  biinging  forth  a  repartee  that 
struck  pat  upon  his  own  head,  no  one  enjoyed  it  more  than  himself. 
Like  a  true  humorist  aiid  story  teller  he  enjoyed  the  taking  as  well 
as  the  giving,  with  the  utmost  good  fellowship. 

From  the  day  that  Gov.  Swain  became  the  chief  officer  of  the 
University  his  life  was  hterally  devoted  to  its  interests.  The  same 
traits  of  character  which  had  hithei-to  seciu'ed  liis  success  in  life 
were  especitilly  needed  here.  His  pmdence,  his  cautious  far 
reaching  policy,  his  constructive  abiht}',  his  insight  into  chai-acter, 
and  remarkable  faculty  for  suggesting  valuable  work  to  others  and 
setting  them  at  it,  his  forbearance,  charity,  self-control— these  were 
all  brought  into  play  with  marked  resrdts.  The  reputation  of  the 
Institution,  and  the  number  of  its  students  steadily  and  continually 
increased.  In  1835,  there  were  not  over  90  in  attendance.  In 
1860,  there  were  nearly  500. 

Gov.  Swain  was  eminently  a  progressive  man.  He  loved  to 
suggest,  and  to  see  his  suggestions  taken  up  and  carried  out. 
What  a  number  of  improvements  the  record  of  his  management 
here  shows  that  he  inaugurated  !  The  excellent  system  of  street- 
draining  in  Chapel  HUl,  by  stone  culverts,  the  planting  of  elms,  the 
enclosing  of  the  college  grounds,  and  their  improvement  and 
ornamentation  with  shrubbery;  all  these  were  planned  by  him,  and 
executed  under  Dr.  Mitchell's  superintendance.  He  first  employed 
a  college  gardener.  He  was  the  founder  of  the  State  Historical 
Society.  He  established,  and  assisted  largely  to  support  the 
University  Magazine,  and  was  himself  one  of  its  most  regulai*  and 
valued  contributors.  He  was  one  of  the  foremost  friends  of  the 
N.  C.  Central  E.  E.,  and  offered  to  be  one  of  a  number  to  take  the 
whole  stock  at  once.  He  first  introduced  the  study  of  the  Bible 
into  college,  and  of  Constitutional  and  International  Law.  And  he 
was  an  earnest  advocate  for  humanizing  the  coiu'se  of  study, 
making  science  more  popular  and  more  prominent. 

He  was  always  deeply  interested  in  the  prosperity  of  the  village 
of  Chapel  Hill,  beheving,  and  justly,  that  its  welfare  was  identical 
with  that  of  the  college.  Circumstances  since  his  death  have  amply 
proved  the  truth  of  this.  He  had  ever  a  kind  word,  and  a  chari- 
table estimate  for  every  man,  woman  and  chUd  in  the  place. 

Thirty-three  years  of  liis  best  days,  and  the  sincerest  labors  of 
his  existence  were  spent  here  in  the  training  of  young  men.  As 
yet,  no  monument  has  been  erected  in  these  grounds  to  commem- 
orate his  virtues  and  his  labors.  The  valley  of  humihation — nay, 
of  the  shadow  of  Death — through  which  our  beloved  Institution  has 
passed,  in  which  she  was  despoiled  of  everything  but  her  glorious 
memories,  and  I  trust,  her  gratitude,  is  the  apology  which  can  be 
offered  for  this  seeming,  but  not  real,  neglect.     A  simple  tablet  to 


13 

his  memory  might  well  be  inserted  in  any  of  these  walls,  and  fitly 
wiitten  thereon  might  be  the  words  found  in  the  epitaph  of  Sir 
Christopher  Wren  in  the  crypt  of  St.  Paul's: 

Lector,  si  monumentum  requiris, 
Circumspice  ! 

In  very  truth  the  University  may  be  looked  upon  as  his  monu- 
ment. It  emerged  from  swaddling  clothes  under  President 
Caldwell;  it  passed  through  a  vigorous  youth  into  a  splendid 
manhood  under  President  Swain.  But  whilst  the  stranger  stands 
upon  the  earth  and  beholds  the  monument  of  the  great  architect 
in  the  magnificent  pUe  whose  tall  fane  overtops  the  loftiest  domes 
and  spires  of  the  greatest  city  in  the  world,  he  who  would  fuUy 
comprehend  the  great  work  of  David  Swain's  hfe  would  have  to 
stand  upon  the  battlements  of  heaven,  and  siuwey  the  moral  world 
with  an  angel's  ken. 

I  know  of  no  man  of  his  day  who  was  sxu'rounded  by  so  many 
inducements  to  return  to  the  paths  leading  to  highest  distraction 
in  active  public  hfe,  who  so  completely  put  them  all  away,  and 
adhered  so  strictly  to  the  work  which  he  had  accepted  here.     As 
we  have  seen,  his  career  as  a  pohtician  and  a  lawyer  had  been 
remarkably  successful  while  he  was  yet  at  a  very  early  age,  and  if 
he  had  desired  further  honors  he  had  aU  the  qualities  which  are 
supposed  to  fit  men  for  the  attainment  of  these  objects.     Had  he 
been  pessessed  of  a  passion  to  accumulate  wealth,  almost  any  other 
course  in  life  wovdd  have  fed  this  desire  more  than  the  Presidency 
of  the   University.     From   aU  these   fields  of  distinction  and  of 
wealth,  the  public  sentiment  of  his  time  desu-ed  that  the  officers, 
and  especiaUy  the  chief  officers  of  the  University  should  be  isolated. 
This  expectation  Grov.  Swain  filled,  and  more  than  filled.     For  the 
good  of  the  Institution,  he  not  only  laid  aside  whatever  of  ambition 
he  may  have  had  in  the  directions  usually  chosen  by  able  men,  but 
he  subordinated  many  cherished  convictions,  and  refrained  fi-om 
the  doing  many  things  which  he  no  doubt  most  ardently  desii-ed 
to  do.     In  the  nature  of  things,  this  course,  so  essential  to  the  suc- 
cess of  an  Institution  entirely  dependent  on  popular  favor,  begot 
many  misconceptions  of  his  character.     It  has  been  said  that  he 
was  undecided  in  his  opinions,  and  timid  in  the  expression  and 
maintenance   of  them.     I  beheve   such   an  impression  does  his 
memory  great  injustice.     His   nature  was  essentially  gentle,  his 
manners  were  mild,  his  temper  was  cautious;  but  I  cannot  beheve 
that  he  was  either  timid  or  undecided.     I  had  the  honor — and  I 
consider  it  both  an  honor  and  a  happy  fortune — to  be  on  terms  of 
confidential  intimacy  with   him  from   my  first  entrance  into  the 
University  until  his  death.     "We  were  in  the  utmost  accord  on  aU 
questions  pertaining  to  Chiu-ch  and  State,  and  during  my  subse- 
quent career — especially  in  those  troublous  years  of  war — I  con- 
sulted him  more  frequently  perhaps  than  any  other  man  in  the 
State,  except  Gov.  Graham.     So  affectionately  Vas  his  interest  in 


14 

my  welfare  always  manifested,  that  many  people  supposed  we  were 
relatives,  and  I  'have  frequently  been  asked  if  such  were  not  the 
fact. 

This  state  of  our  relations  gave  me  ample  oj^portunity  to  know 
him  weU,  and  I  beUeve  I  can  say  with  entire  truth  that  whilst  his 
course  of  life  and  surroundings  necessarily  made  him  tolerant  and 
even  liberal  towards  those  who  disagreed  with  him,  he  was  as 
positive  in  his  opinions,  religious  and  political,  and  as  firm  in  his 
adherence  to  them,  as  any  man  of  my  acquaintance.  The  unpopu- 
larity of  which  he  was  afraid,  and  which  produced  that  cautious 
habit  which  some  men  mistook  for  timidity,  pertained  to  the 
Institution  which  he  had  in  charge,  and  not  to  himseK.  And  as 
the  State  reaped  the  benefit  of  his  prudence  in  the  increased 
prosperity  of  the  University,  the  injustice  of  charging  this  to  a 
defect  of  character  becomes  all  the  more  ajDparent. 

The  remarkable  character  of  his  memory  served  him  in  good 
stead  in  many  ways  through  life.  As  a  law}'er  it  had  been  inval- 
uable, not  only  enabling  him  to  cite  cases  with  great  readiness  to 
the  court,  but  in  trials  before  juries,  without  taking  notes  he  could 
repeat  the  testimony  of  aU  the  witnesses  examined,  no  matter  how 
many,  nor  how  long  the  trial  continued. 

Perhaps  he  was  more  thoroughly  versed  in  biography  than  any 
man  who  has  ever  hved  in  America;  certainly  North  Carohna  never 
produced  his  equal  in  this  respect.  His  wonderful  memory,  com- 
bined with  gi-eat  industry,  was  stimulated  by  a  genuine  love  of 
genealogical  studies.  Almost  the  first  question  he  would  ask  a 
student  on  meeting  him,  if  indeed  he  did  not  akeady  know,  was, 
"Who  is  your  father  ?"  On  being  told,  by  a  few  quick  questions 
he  would  possess  himself  of  the  boy's  lineage,  and  would  never 
forget  it.  G-eneraUy,  however,  the  boys  woiild  be  utterly  astounded 
on  presenting  themselves,  to  find  that  the  Governor  knew  more  of 
them  and  their  famihes  than  they  did  themselves.  It  was  equally 
so  ^dth  all  strangers  with  whom  he  met,  and  fi-equently  ludicrous 
scenes  resulted  from  his  insatiable  desire  to  trace  pedigree. 
Whilst  a  delegate  fi'om  this  State  to  the  Montgomery  Convention, 
which  organized  the  Confederacy  in  18G1,  he  was  introduced  to  a 
distinguished  gentleman,  and  without  letting  go  his  hand  which  he 
took  to  shake,  he  stopped  in  the  midst  of  the  flow  of  ceremonious 
speech,  and  to  the  no  smaU  amusement  of  the  bystanders  asked 
him :  "Su-,  was  not  your  mother's  maiden  name  Jones  ?"  I  doubt 
if  there  is  a  single  family  on  the  Atlantic  coast,  whose  members 
have  borne  any  prominent  i)art  in  the  affairs  of  the  country,  in 
regard  to  which  he  did  not  have  more  or  less  of  information,  and 
could  have  told  all  about  its  leading  representatives  at  least.  With 
a  very  Httle  help  indeed  he  could  have  supplied  a  "Doomsday 
Book"  of  North  Carohna,  by  far  more  accui-ate  than  that  of  the 
Conqueror.  It  was  generally  understood  at  Chapel  Hill  that  if  you 
wanted  to  know  lohat  anything  was,  you  went  to  Dr.  IVIitcheU;  if  you 
wanted  to  know  who  anybody  was,  you  went  to  Gov.  Swain. 


15 

And  as  he  never  forgot  face,  or  name,  or  lineage  of  the  man  once 
known  to  bim,  so  lie  never  forgot  a  kindness  or  a  favor  once  done 
to  him  or  his,  and  loved  to  continue  such  memories,  and  extend  the 
chain  of  friendship  to  second  and  third  generations.  "Thine  own, 
and  thy  father's  fnend  forsake  not,"  was  one  of  his  favorite  maxims. 
He  was  utterly  incapable  of  resisting  an  appeal  for  mercy,  or  a  tale 
of  distress.  This  was,  I  believe,  the  only  objection  urged  against 
his  conduct  on  the  bench — his  leniency  to  criminals.  It  was  an 
objection  to  his  honor,  if  his  mercy  was  at  aU.  tempered  with  discre- 
tion, as  I  doubt  not  it  was.  So  too  arose  the  only  serious  trouble 
he  ever  had  with  the  Trustees  of  the  University.  •/ 

Stringent  measures  had  been  resolved  upon  by  the  Board  towards^- 
dissipation  and  iiisubordination  among  the  students,  which  regula- 
tions were  not  rigidly  enforced  by  Gov.  Swain.  So  great  was  his 
forbearance  with  the' hot  blood  of  youth,  and  so  strong  his  faith 
that  time  would  cure  these  early  folHes,  and  enable  the  better 
natures  of  the  young  men  to  assert  themselves,  that  he  suffered  the 
Draconian  code  of  the  Trustees  to  he  dormant,  whilst  he  lectm-ed, 
reproved,  and  exhorted.  He  shrank  fi'om  branding  the  opening 
years  of  a  young  life  with  sentence  of  dismission  or  expulsion,  and 
would  condescend  to  an  en-ing  boy  while  there  remained  the  last 
hope  of  reform.  In  such  cases  liis  judgment  not  unfrequently  came 
into  conflict  with  the  opinions  of  other  members  of  the  Faculty,  and 
finally  so  ii-ritated  the  Trustees  that  they  passed  a  resolution  of 
censure  upon  him,  which  was  pubhcly  read  from  the  platform  of 
the  Chapel  by  no  less  a  personage  than  Gov.  IredeU.  Quite  a  scene 
was  excited  on  this  occasion,  and  when  Gov.  Swain  arose  and 
rephed  in  his  own  vindication,  it  was  with  much  emotion,  not 
tmmingled  with  indignation;  "More,"  says  Mr.  Cameron,  who  was 
present,  "than  I  ever  knew  him  to  exhibit  on  any  occasion,  before 
or  since." 

The  lapse  of  time  has  shown  this  pohcy  to  have  been  the  best  and 
wisest  not  only  for  the  young  men  themselves,  but  for  the  Institu- 
tion, and  for  his  own  fame.  Who  of  all  the  hundi-eds  to  wliom  he 
thus  stood  in  the  attitude  of  a  father,  kind,  and  long-suffering,  and 
hopeful,  but  now  recalls  him  with  affection  and  gratitude;  how 
many  a  one  remembers  his  college  life  at  Chapel  Hill  as  the  turn-  fc 
ing  point  of  his  life  where  he  was  won  by  undeserved  kindness  to 
paths  of  honor,  not  repelled  by  judicial  severity,  and  feels  in  his 
heart  that  under  God  he  owes  aU  that  he  has  of  fortune,  friends  or 
fame  to  this  Institution  and  its  wise  head ! 

While  the  Governor  remained  in  pohtical  life  his  extraordinary 
memoiy  of  persons,  and  names  and  events  gave  him  a  wonderful 
advantage.  There  is  no  more  successful  way  of  making  ones  self 
agreeable  to  the  multitude  than  by  knowing  men  when  you  meet 
them,  and  calhng  them  by  name.  Not  to  recognize  a  man  who  has 
stood  your  friend,  and  fought  your  battles  at  the  polls,  is  always  an 
omission  of  evil  omen  in  his  eyes,  and  a  bad  memory  for  names  wiU 
not  always  apologize  for  what  seems  to  be  neglect.     Many  and 


16 

many  are  the  sMfts  of  the  politician  to  avoid  this  fatal  predicament. 
But  I  venture  to  say  that  Gov.  Swain  veas  never  caught  in  such  a 
way.  Once  being  introduced,  he  never  forgot  his  man,  nor  his 
family  connections.  After  the  surrender  of  Gen.  Lee  in  1865,  when 
Gen.  Sherman  had  begun  his  march  upon  Raleigh,  at  the  earnest 
request  of  Mr.  B.  F.  Moore  and  Mr.  Kenneth  Rayner,  I  sent  an 
embassy  to  meet  the  Federal  Commander,  and  obtain  what  terms 
were  possible  for  the  suiTender  of  the  Capital  of  the  State. 

Having  confidence  in  their  fii-mness  and  discretion,  I  selected 
Govs.  Swain  and  Graham,  who  left  in  a  few  moments  after  their 
appointment,  on  a  special  train,  accompanied  by  Dr.  Edward  War- 
ren, Surgeon  General  of  the  State.  I  remarked  after  their  dejDar- 
ture  with  my  letter,  as  one  reason  for  selecting  him,  that  I  had  no 
doubt  Gov.  Swain  would  find  plenty  of  acquaintances  in  the  enemy's 
cam  J),  or  at  least  would  prove  that  he  knew  the  fathers  of  many  of 
the  officers.  And  so  it  was;  on  his  arrival  at  headquarters,  he  not 
only  claimed  Gen.  Sherman  as  an  old  correspondent,  and  fellow- 
college-president,  but  immediately  seized  upon  two  or  three 
members  of  the  staff  whose  parents  and  pedigree  he  knew,  and 
was  soon  at  home  among  them. 

And  here  perhaps  it  is  not  improper  in  me  to  cori-ect  a  statement 
made  by  Gen.  Sherman  in  his  memoirs,  in  relation  to  this  embassy. 
Referring  to  it,  that  General  says :  "They  had  come  wdth  a  flag  of 
truce,  to  which  they  were  not  entitled;  still,  in  the  interests  of 
peace,  I  respected  it,  and  permitted  them  to  return  to  Raleigh  with 
their  locomotive  to  assure  the  Governor  (of  the  State)  and  the 
people,  that  the  war  was  substantially  over,  and  that  I  wanted  the 
civil  authorities  to  remain  in  the  execution  of  their  office  till  the 
pleasure  of  the-  President  could  be  ascertained.  On  reaching 
Raleigh,  I  found  these  same  gentlemen  with  Messrs.  Bragg,  Badger, 
Holden  and  others,  but  Gov.  Vance  had  fled,  and  could  not  be 
prevailed  on  to  return,  because  he  feared  aiTcst  and  imprisonment." 

This  statement  is  uncandid,  not  to  say  untruthful,  by  implication 
x/'  at  least.  These  gentlemen  had  a  right  to  the  flag  of  truce,  for  it 
^  was  sent  with  the  consent,  and  by  permission  of  Gen.  Hardee, 
commanding  the  Confederate  forces  in  the  absence  of  Gen.  John- 
ston, and  should  not  have  been  permitted  to  enter  the  enemy's 
hnes  if  the  bearers  were  not  entitled  to  carry  it.  It  was  7wt 
^  respected,  for  it  was  fired  upon  by  Kilpatrick's  men,  and  "captured" 
as  they  claimed,  and  the  gentlemen  composing  the  embassy  were 
promptly  and  skillfully  robbed  of  their  surplus  personalty,  and 
^  were  conducted  as  "prisoners"  to  Gen.  Sherman's  headquarters. 
^  They  were  not  permitted  promptly,  as  the  statement  implies,  to 
return  with  their  locomotive,  with  assurances  of  peace  and  protec- 
tion, but  were  detained  there  the  entire  day  and  night  after  their 
X,  arrival  within  Sherman's  lines,  until  he  no  doubt  knew  that  Raleigh 
was  entirely  uncovered  by  Johnston's  troops.  Of  course,  all  the 
officers  of  the  State  government  who  did  not  wish  to  surrender  at 
discretion,  left  with  the  Confederate  troops,  for,  the  embassy  not 


17 

returning  and  no  news  of  its  fate,  except  that  it  had  been  captured, 
and  no  reply  to  my  letter  being  received,  they  had  no  assurance  of 
protection.  Gov.  Swain  states  in  his  address  at  the  opening  of 
Tucker  Hall,  that  on  the  return  of  the  embassy  that  memorable 
morning,  but- a  few  minutes  in  advance  of  the  Federal  troops,  the 
city  was  shrouded  in  silence  and  gloom,  except  for  the  presence  of 
a  few  marauding  stragglers  fx'om  Wheeler's  cavalry,  showing  con- 
clusively that  the  city  was  uncovered  when  he  arrived  with 
Sherman's  message.  It  was  some  days  afterwards,  and  at  Hills- 
boro,  when  I  learned  from  Gov.  Graham  the  result  of  his  mission, 
and  it  was  then  far  too  late  for  me,  consistently  with  other  duties, 
to  accept  of  Sherman's  offer  of  protection,  had  any  one  convinced 
me  that  it  was  best  to  do  so,  which  indeed  no  one  did.  My 
inclinations,  I  confess,  were  to  be  with  that  little  army,  fully  one- 
third  of  whom  were  North  Carolinians,  until  they  laid  down  their 
arms.     I  am  happy  to  reflect  that  I  shared  their  fate  to  the  last.     X^ 

This  much  to  vindicate  the  truth  of  History.  Throughout  this 
whole  transaction,  as  many  gentlemen  have  testified  to  me,  Gov. 
Swain's  bearing  was,  in  the  highest  degree,  courageous,  discreet 
and  manly. 

During  the  war  his  efforts  had  mainly  been  directed  to  keeping 
the  college  alive,  for  such  was  the  impetuosity  with  which  the  call 
to  arms  was  obeyed,  that  of  the  eighty  members  of  which  the 
Freshman  class  consisted  in  1860,  but  one  (in  delicate  health) 
remained  to  pursue  his  studies.  (Of  the  senior  class  of  that  date 
not  one  had  remained  out  of  the  army,  and  fully  one-foiu'th  of  them 
fell  in  battle.)  Seven  members  of  the  Faculty  volunteered,  and  of 
them  five  returned  no  more. 

Gov.  Swain  appealed  to  the  Confederate  government  more  than 
once  to  prevent  the  handful  of  college  boys  left,  from  being  drafted. 
President  Davis  himself  seconded  these  efforts  in  the  earlier  years 
of  the  war,  declaring  that  "the  seed-corn  should  not  be  ground  up." 
But  as  the  exigencies  of  the  country  increased,  this  wisdom  was 
lost  sight  of,  the  collegians  were  again  and  again  called  upon,  till 
at  the  time  of  Lee's  surrender,  there  were  but  about  a  dozen  here 
still  keeping  up  the  name  and  forms  of  a  college.  But  even  while 
the  village  and  University  were  occupied  by  four  thousand  Michigan 
fcavalry,  the  old  bell  was  rung  daily,  prayers  were  held,  and  the 
University  was  kept  going.  The  Governor  took  a  pride  in  this,  and 
hoped  that  he  was  to  tell  it  many  years  after.  But  this  long  and 
useful  life,  devoted  to  the  best  interests  of  his  country  and  his  age, 
was  nearing  its  close.  Only  three  years  yet  remained  to  him,  and 
these  were  devoted  by  him  to  earnest,  unceasing  endeavors  to 
reinstate  the  University  pecuniarily,  and  to  recall  its  former 
patronage,  Dai'ker  days,  however,  were  in  store  for  it,  which  he  in 
the  good  Providence  of  God  was  not  to  be  permitted  to  see. 

In  the  summer  of  1868,  the  State  passing  under  a  new  Constitu- 
tion, and  an  entire  change  of  Government,  the  University  also  fell 
into  new  hands,  whose  first  action  was  to  request  the  resignation 


18 

of  the  President  and  Faculty,  most  of  whom  had  grown  grey  in 
service  to  the  State.  A  guard  of  negroes  were  sent  to  take  posses- 
sion, and  these  halls  were  closed.  Gov.  Swain  was  then  preparing 
for  a  visit  to  Buncombe.  On  the  11th  day  of  August,  while  driving 
in  the  neighborhood  of  Chapel  Hill  with  Prof.  Fetter,  he  was  thrown 
from  the  buggy,  and  brought  home  painfully,  but  as  was  then  sup- 
posed, not  seriously  injured.  Confined  to  his  bed  for  about  two 
weeks,  he  appeared  to  be  recovering,  when  on  the  morning  of  the 
27th  he  suddenly  fainted,  and  expired  without  pain. 

He  was  in  the  full  possession  of  all  his  faculties  up  to  the  last 
moment^  and  died  at  peace  with  all  the  world;  a  fitting  close  to  a 
life  of  beneficence  and  integrity.  The  manner  of  his  death  afforded 
a  melancholy  coincidence  taken  with  those  of  his  two  oldest  friends 
and  co-laborers  in  the  Faculty  who  had  preceded  hun  over  the 
river,  and  were  "resting  under  the  shade  of  the  trees."  Dr.  Elisha 
Mitchell  perished  by  falling  down  a  precipice  in  the  cataracts  of 
the  Black  Mountain,  June  27, 1857.  Dr.  James  Phillips  sank  down 
suddenly  on  this  rostrum  while  in  the  act  of  conducting  morning 
prayers,  and  died  without  a  struggle,  March  14th,  18G7.  Thus  all 
of  these  eminent  men,  worthy  servants  of  Christianity  and  civiliza- 
tion died  with  some  degree  of  suddeness,  or  violence. 

A  just  estimate  of  the  talents  and  character  of  Gov.  Swain,  for 
reasons  already  indicated,  is  not  easily  made  plain  to  popular 
apprehension.  By  the  world  the  term  "great"  is  variously  applied 
and  misapplied.  It  is  often  withheld  when  it  is  most  richly 
deserved;  not,  because  of  the  injustice  of  cotemporaries,  for 
personal  prejudice  rarely  outlives  a  generation,  but  because  men 
rarely  appreciate  the  full  extent  and  character  of  the  labors  of  a 
lifetime.  And  especially  is  this  true  when  that  life  has  been  mainly 
spent  in  the  planting  of  moral  seeds  below  the  surface,  which  per- 
haps for  years  make  no  great  show  of  the  harvest" which  is  sure  to 
come.  Generations  are  sometimes  required  to  elapse  before  the 
world  can  see  the  golden  sheaves  which  cover  and  adorn  the  land- 
scape, the  result  of  that  patient  and  judicious  planting. 

They  who  in  life  are  followed  by  the  noisy  plaudits  of  the  crowd, 
who  fill  the  largest  space  in  the  eyes  of  their  cotemporaries,  anel 
seem  to  tower  far  above  their  fellows  are  not  always  found  to  hav^ 
their  reputation  built  on  the  securest  foundations,, nor  to  have  left 
their  mark  on  the  age  in  which  they  lived.  Erasmus  was  esteemed 
by  his  generation  a  much  greater  man  than  Luther.  One  of  the 
most  remarkable  men  of  his  century,  few  indeed  have  equalled  him 
in  keenness  of  intellect,  and  in  depth  and  extent  of  learning.  Yet 
viewed  now  in  the  light  of  their  labors,  and  the  value  and  signifi- 
cance of  their  impression  on  the  world,  what  a  veritable  shadow  he 
was  by  the  side  of  the  plainer,  less  learned,  but  downright  monk ! 
Erasmus  is  known  to  the  scholars  who  search  for  his  name  and 
works  in  the  cyclop Fedias;  the  name  and  the  spirit  of  Luther  per- 
vade and  affect  the  civilization  of  the  whole  world. 


19 

On  the  Slst  of  February,  1677,  there  died  in  a  small  house  in  the 
Hague  a  man  whose  greatness  could  not  be  measured,  says  his 
biographer,  until  humanity  had  moved  to  the  proper  prospective 
point  at  the  distance  of  more  than  a  century.  The  view  enlarged 
as  time  rolled  on,  as  it  does  to  men  chmbing  high  mountains;  in 
1877,  the  world  agrees  to  number  him  among  the  undoubted  sons 
of  o-enius,  and  benefactors  of  mankind.  His  admirers  erect  a 
monument  to  his  memory  just  two  hundred  years  after  his  death 
in  the  same  city  where  he  was  persecuted,  excommunicated,  and 
his  works  destroyed.  His  name  was  Spinoza.  Modest,  and  pure, 
and  upright,  he  had  the  misfortune  to  live  two  hundred  years 
before  his  age,  and  to  put  forth  fruits  of  genius  which  his  fellows 
could  not  comprehend,  and  so  they  stamped  him  and  them  into 
dust  as  being  unorthodox.  Two  centuries  of  progress  have  brought 
the  world  up  to  where  Spinoza  died,  and  it  builds  him  a  monument. 
At  last,  his  work  is  seen. 

The  Earl  of  Murray,  Lord  Regent  of  Scotland,  was  not  esteemed 
a  o-reat  man  in  his  day.  His  behaviour  was  modest,  his  abihties 
were  apparently  but  moderate,  and  for  more  than  two  hundred 
years  he  has  figured  in  History  as  an  ordinary  man,  overlaid  by 
the  more  violent  and  intriguing  spirits  of  his  time,  and  his  char- 
acter obscured  and  distorted  by  the  glamour  which  surrounds  the 
name  of  his  beauteous  but  abandoned  sister  and  murderess.  Queen 
Mary.  And  yet  when  two  centuries  afterwards  the  spirit  of 
philosophic  History  comes  to  trace  cause  and  effect,  and  to  show 
the  result  of  his  life's  work  upon  Protestant  Christianity  and  what 
he  contributed  to  the  domination  of  the  English-speaking  races,  we 
agree  at  once  with  Mr.  Froude  that  he  was  in  truth  one  of  the  best 
and  greatest  of  men,  a  benefactor  of  mankind. 

And  so  it  may  be  said  of  Bunyan,  of  Wesley  and  of  many  more, 
whose  beginnings  were  esteemed  but  of  small  account,  but  whose 
fame  has  continued  to  grow  continually  brighter  and  brighter,  as 
the  world  has  been  forced  to  see  how  wisely  they  builded. 

In  many  senses  of  the  term  Gov,  Swain  was  not  a  great  man. 
As  an  author,  though  a  man  of  letters,  he  neither  achieved  nor 
attempted  anything  lasting.  As  a  politician,  though  he  rose  rapidly 
to  the  highest  honors  of  his  native  State,  he  did  not  strikingly 
impress  himself  upon  his  times  by  any  great  speech,  nor  by  any 
grand  stroke  of  policy.  In  this  respect  he  was  inferior  to  many  of 
his  cotemporaries  who  constituted,  perhaps,  the  brightest  cluster 
of  names  in  our  annals.  As  a  lawyer  and  a  judge,  he  occupied 
comparatively  about  the  same  position;  and  as  a  scholar  he  was 
not  to  be  distinguished,  being  inferior  to  several  of  his  co-laborers 
in  the  University. 

But  in  many  things  he  was  entitled  to  be  called  great,  if  we  mean 
by  that  term  that  he  so  used  the  faculties  he  possessed  that  he 
raised  himself  beyond  and  above  the  great  mass  of  his  fellows.  In 
him  there  was  a  rounded  fullness  of  the  qualities,  intellectual  and 
moral,  which  constitute  the  excellence  of  manhood,  in  a  degree 


20 

never  excelled  by  any  citizen  of  North  Carolina  whom  I  have  personally 
known,  except  by  Wm.  A.  Graham.  If  there  was  in  Swain  no  one  grand 
quality  of  intellect  which  lifted  him  out  of  comparison  with  any  but  the 
demi-gods  of  our  race,  neither  was  there  any  element  so  wanting  as  to  sink 
him  into  or  below  the  common  mass.  If  there  were  in  him  no  Himalayan 
peaks  of  Genius  piercing  into  the  regions  of  everlasting  frost  and  ice,  neither 
were  there  any  yawning  chasms  or  slimy  pools  below  the  tide  waters  of 
mediocrity.  He  rose  from  the  plain  of  his  fellow  men,  like  the  Alleghanies 
in  whose  bosom  he  was  born,  by  regular  and  easy  gradations,  so  easy  that 
you  know  not  how  high  you  are  until  you  turn  to  gaze  backward — every  step 
surrounded  by  beauty  and  fertility  until  he  rested  high  over  all  the  land.  If 
there  be  those  who  singly  tower  above  him  in  gifts,  or  attainments,  or  dis- 
tinctions, there  are  none  whom  as  a  whole  we  can  contemplate  with  more 
interest,  affection  and  admiration,  none  whose  work  for  North  Carolina  will 
prove  to  be  more  valuable,  or  mors  lasting,  or  more  imijortant  to  future 
generations;  none  to  whom,  at  the  great  final  review,  the  greeting  may  be 
more  heartily  addressed:  "Servant  of  God,  icell  done!" 

No  estimate  of  Gov.  Swain's  walk  through  life  should  omit  the  considera- 
tion of  his  christian  character.  It  was  especially  marked  by  catholicity  of 
feeling  towards  all  good  men  of  whatever  name.  He  was  accustomed  to  refer 
this  to  the  circumstances  of  his  bringing  up.  He  would  say:  "My  father  was 
a  Presbyterian  Elder,  and  an  Arminian,  my  mother  was  Methodist  and  a 
Calvinist,  who  loved  and  studied  Scotfs  commentary.  Their  house  was  the 
home  for  preachers  of  all  sorts  west  of  the  Blue  Eidge.  Bishop  Asbury 
blessed  me  when  a  child.  Mr.  Newton,  a  Presbyterian,  taught  me  when  a 
boy,  and  Humphrey  Posey,  a  Baptist,  used  to  pray  for  me  when  a  youth.  So 
I  love  all  who  show  that  thej'  are  christians." 

On  his  death-bed,  he  spoke  often  of  "the  communion  of  Saints"  with  one 
another,  and  with  their  Head. 

He  was  a  decided  Presbyterian,  however;  he  admired  what  he  called  "the 
sj'mmetry"  of  the  ecclesiastical  system  of  his  church;  he  dwelt  on  its  history 
with  great  delight,  and  was  accustomed  to  find  support  for  his  soul  in  times 
of  deep  distress  in  its  interpretations  of  the  bible.  He  was  a  praying  man, 
and  not  ashamed  to  be  known  as  such.  He  first  introduced  the  practice  of 
opening  the  regular  meetings  of  the  Faculty  with  prayer.  The  night  before 
he  died,  he  said  of  the  Lord's  prayer:  "The  oftener  I  use  it  the  more  precious 
it  is  to  me;  it  contains  a  whole  body  of  divinity." 

In  private  life  he  was  most  upright,  kind,  social  and  hospitable.  An 
excellent  financier,  he  left  a  handsome  estate,  even  "after  the  war."  He  had 
a  proper  conception  of  the  value  of  wealth,  and  all  his  life  practised  a  judi- 
cious economy,  but  he  knew  well  both  how  to  lend  and  how  to  give.  His 
conversation  was  delightfully  interesting  and  instructive,  replete  with 
anecdote,  genial  humor,  histori^-al  incident,  or  literary  quotaiion.  Few  men 
of  his  associates  equalled  him  in  these  respects,  even  after  the  infirmity  of 
deafness  had  cut  him  off  from  much  social  enjoyment. 

His  remains  lie  buried  in  Oakwood  Cemetery  near  Ealeigh,  and  close 
beside  the  sleeping  soldiers  of  the  Confederacy,  and  the  soil  of  our  State 
holds  the  dust  of  no  son  who  loved  her  more,  or  seiwed  her  better.  Peaceful 
be  his  rest,  as  he  waits  for  the  clear  breaking  of  the  day  over  the  brow  of  the 
eternal  hills. 

The  daisies  prank  thy  grassy  grave. 

Above,  the  dark  pine  branches  wave ; 
Sleep  on. 

Below,  the  merry  runnel  sings, 

And  swallows  sweep  with  glancing  wings; 
Sleep  on,  old  friend,  sleep  on. 

Calm  as  a  summer  sea  at  rest, 

Thy  meek  hands  folded  on  thy  breast. 
Sleep  on. 

Hushed  into  stillness  life's  sharp  pain, 

Naught  but  the  pattering  of  the  rain, 
Sleep  on,  dear  friend,  sleep  on. 


